Hull rapper to perform at Glastonbury

Chiedu Oraka, 36, said it had taken 15 years of "hard graft" to get this far

A rapper from Hull is to perform in front of thousands of people at Glastonbury Festival.

Chiedu Oraka, 36, raps about the ups-and-downs of growing up on a council estate.

The former teacher began performing at 16 and has previously been a support act for Skepta.

Mr Oraka will be on the BBC Music Introducing stage at Glastonbury on Sunday 30 June.

Mr Oraka said he wanted to inspire young people on North Hull Estate

He said being asked to perform at Glastonbury was a shock.

“I looked on my emails and it just said you’ve been invited to play Glastonbury. I just couldn’t believe it, I’m buzzing.

"People don’t realise but it’s been like 15 years of hard graft to get to this.

"I always say my official start-up was in 2011 when I released my first CD, dishing them out on the streets and selling them for £3."

'Got laughed at'

Chiedu Oraka, who was a teacher for eight years, has recently returned from performing in America. Some of his tracks have had millions of streams on Spotify.

“The journey has been mad. When I first started rapping I got laughed at.

"People used to say why is a Hull guy rapping in a Hull accent, I used to get the mickey taken out of me," he said.

The rapper from Hull will perform at Glastonbury on 30 June

Mr Oraka said he wanted to inspire the next generation.

“I feel it’s important to be that inspirational character especially for the kids on my council estate so that they can see if Chiedu is doing it and he comes from a place like us then we can also do something successful with our lives.

"Hull has had some successful singers and bands, like Beautiful South and Roland Gift but you don’t expect a rapper to come from a place like Hull and I’ve changed that perspective.”

Follow BBC East Yorkshire on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail]